NBA: Career High!

Despite numerous injuries, the Boston Celtics (38-15) beat the Atlanta Hawks (15-37) with 119:110 (BOXSCORE). The difference is Terry Rozier. The Hawks find no answer either against him or against the dominance of Celtics in the Zone. Meanwhile, Dennis Schröder will cool down after a good start to the game.

The Celts, who were injured, played with a decimated squad: Marcus Smart (Hand) and Marcus Morris (Hip) lacked other important players in addition to Kyrie Irving (Upper Thigh) and Marcus Morris (Hip). Head coach Brad Stevens had only eleven players, seven of whom were rookies.

However, the Hawks could not exploit this circumstance. Thanks to a 14:0 run, in which Dennis Schröder played a major role with some good isolation plays, the guests managed to reach a 9-point lead in the first quarter, but it didn’t last too long. Afterwards, a well-balanced game developed up to the halfway point (55:53 ATL) in which no team was able to make a significant difference.

After the break, however, the hosts took control. Thanks to their dominance in the zone, Boston scored points almost at will, while the Hawks on the other side of the border cooled down tremendously. A Terry Rozier Catch-and-Shoot trio brought the Celtics to the front with 19 points just a few seconds to go before the end of the third quarter. Overall, Boston won this round with 41:20.

Apparently, the Hawks didn’t want to give up yet. Led by Taurean Prince, Atlanta fought her way up to 10 points again (103:93 for Boston) – but it didn’t get any tighter. The Celtics subsequently forced some turnovers and quickly converted them into another 15-point lead on the opposite side. So the game was over.

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Best man of Celtics was clearly Rozier. As a replacement for Irving in the Starting Five he put a fabulous performance on the stage and scored 31 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Rozier scored 11 of his 18 field throwing attempts and 6 of 8 threesomes. Helpful support was provided by Jayson Tatum (27 points, 11/19 FG, 4 steals), Al Horford (17 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists) and Jaylen Brown (19). Daniel Theis was also convincing with a good performance. The German scored 4 points (1/6 FG), 3 Rebounds and 3 Assists and showed some strong Plays in the Defense.

Meanwhile, his buddy Dennis Schröder scored 25 points (10/20 FG), but he also cooled down after a strong first half (17 points) in the further course of the game. Best scorer of the Hawks was Prince with 31 points (5/9 threesomes). Marco Belinelli contributed 15 points from the bank, but that was not enough to prevent the fifth bankruptcy of the past six games.

Boston Celtics vs. Atlanta Hawks: This way to the BOXSCORE!

Terry Rozier. After his triple double in the first start of his career, the 23-year-old made an excellent impression at his second appearance in the Starting Five. Rozier led the Celtics’ offense through the game very well, made almost no mistakes (only 2 turnovers) and also pulverized his career high (previously 23 points). He was also convincing with his work under the boards.

Kent Bazemore. The appearance of the shooting guide was a total failure. Only 11 points (5 rebounds and 4 assists) were recorded in the boxing score for Bazemore. He only hit 2 of his 9 field throwing attempts. Last but not least, after a frustrating foul in the third quarter, he also received a technical foul – not a good evening for the 28-year-old.

Celtics turned the game in the third section thanks to their dominance in the zone. On the one hand, Boston’s guards were always skillfully close to the baskets, but on the other hand the Big Men of the Celts also proved their touch in some situations with good hook shoots or post-plays over the defence. Especially in the third quarter, Boston was always looking for Al Horford in the post office, who did what he wanted to do with the Hawks-Defense. Boston scored 48 points in the Zone, while the Hawks only scored 34.